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Meeting the Needs of English Language Learners in Reading First Classrooms. Today’s Goals. Examine the nature of the challenge Identify effective strategies Discuss an action plan at the district, school and classroom levels
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Meeting the Needs of English Language Learners in Reading First Classrooms
Today’s Goals • Examine the nature of the challenge • Identify effective strategies • Discuss an action plan at the district, school and classroom levels • Learn about Georgia’s ESOL program, regulations, and available resources
Some Common Terms and Acronyms
Some Common Terms and Acronyms • Limited English Proficiency (LEP) • English-Language Learner (ELL) • English as a Second Language (ESL) • English as a Foreign Language (EFL) • English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) • First (Home) Language (L1) • Second Language (L2) • Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL)
The Plight of ELLs
How many English-language learners are in Georgia schools? ?
ELLs in Georgia Schools From 1993 to 2004, the number of English language learners in Georgia rose from 11,877 to 59,126 – an increase of 397.8%. Source: National Center for English Language Acquisition
More Georgia Stats . . . Public school students in LEP Programs 4.3% Hispanic students 6.9% Asian/Pacific Islander 2.5% Source: NAEP, 2005
Four Types of ELL Programs – Tabors & Snow, 2002
Four Phases of Transition to Spoken English 1. ELLs use L1, expecting to be understood. – They are often not understood, however. 2. ELLs grow silent. – They realize L1 is not working for them. 3. ELLs begin using telegraphic and formulaic language. – Telegraphic Examples: Object names, counting – Formulaic Examples: Catch phrases (“Excuse me,” “I don’t know”) 4. ELLs gradually learn to use English productively. – They blend formulaic with telegraphic speech Examples: “I do a ice cream,” “I got a big” – Tabors & Snow, 2002
Two Types of Oral English Proficiency – Adapted from Drucker, 2003
Reading and Language Development of a Native Speaker Foundation of Spoken English Develops Reading Adds to the Foundation Reading Builds on This Foundation
Implications for Classroom Instruction
So where do teachers start? Most cores have an ELL resource handbook and related materials. Start there. But let’s think about general advice.
So where do teachers start? Let’s look at some key differences between Spanish and English.
Spanish vs. English Spanish vowels always have the same sound:
Spanish vs. English Short vowels are hard for Spanish-speaking children because most of these phonemes do not exist in Spanish!
Spanish vs. English What are the implications of these differences for acquiring (and teaching) phonemic awareness and phonics?
Phonemic Awareness for Spanish-Speaking ELLs • Children’s knowledge of Spanish phonology may influence how they acquire phonemic awareness in English. • They may find it hard at first to distinguish phonemes not heard in Spanish (e.g., v-b, s-sp, ch-sh). • Instruction in specific pairs has been shown to have positive results. National Literacy Panel on Language-Minority Children, 2006
Phonemic Awareness for Spanish-Speaking ELLs • Phonemic awareness in Spanish translates into English. That is, children can do similar tasks (segmenting, blending, etc.). • However, the specific phonemes are often different. • These differences are predictable. • Well-planned teaching leads to equal levels of phonemic awareness for ELLs and native English speakers. Gersten & Geva, 2005
Phonics for Spanish-Speaking ELLs • Begin with sounds that English and Spanish share. • Start with vowels and consonants that represent sounds that are the same as or similar to the sounds they represent in Spanish (listed in previous slides). • Use your knowledge of Spanish to interpret misspellings. (Example: da might be written for the) • If you’re not comfortable with Spanish, ask the child to read what s/he has written and listen for letter-sound correspondences. Helman, 2004
Phonics for Spanish-Speaking ELLs • A pronunciation error may reflect knowledge of Spanish. Example: Saying seat for sit is common when the child has some reading ability in Spanish. It might also be an attempt to come as close as possible using a Spanish vowel sound. • Use low-stress activities to practice pronunciations. Examples: choral reading, echo reading, sound sorting of pictures, poetry, songs Helman, 2004
Phonics for Spanish-Speaking ELLs • Try using Venns and word walls to underscore similarities and differences in letter-sound correspondences. (See previous slides.) • Developmental spelling inventories can provide useful information about phonics skills (e.g., the one in Words Their Way by Bear et al.). • Short vowels should be taught before long vowels. Helman, 2004
Phonics for Spanish-Speaking ELLs • Conduct think-alouds comparing English and Spanish. “Teachers may verbalize their thinking in a modeled writing activity as they ponder which sounds they hear in a tricky word. They may even model being confused and self-correcting based on a Spanish sound.” (p. 458) Helman, 2004
Which instructional techniques are consistent with theory and research?
The Output Hypothesis suggests that teachers provide many opportunities for ELLs to talk and write. Doing so also provides a window on their development of their English.
A central way for teachers to assess the learning and understanding of their ELLs is to give them myriad opportunities to write and talk during lessons. When ELLs are silent during extended periods of lesson times, it is not possible to know if or how much they are learning from lessons. – Brock & Raphael, 2005, p. 51
Good instruction for ELLs builds on a long tradition of nesting a reading selection in before, during and after activities. Let’s examine which of the major lesson formats seem most promising. Before During After
Major Lesson Formats • Directed Reading Activity (DRA) • Directed Reading-Thinking Activity (DR-TA) • K-W-L • Listen-Read-Discuss (L-R-D) Before During After
DRA Facts Students read to Discussion Vocabulary complete tasks Writing Text structure set by teacher Before During After
DRA Facts Students read to Discussion Vocabulary complete tasks Writing Text structure set by teacher Before During After
DRA Facts Students read to Discussion Vocabulary complete tasks Writing Text structure set by teacher Before During After
DRA Facts Students read to Discussion Vocabulary complete tasks Writing Text structure set by teacher Before During After
5 Steps in a Classic DRA Background (vocabulary, facts) Focus (set specific purposes) Reading Discussion Skills, Extension, Enrichment
5 Steps in a Classic DRA Background (vocabulary, facts) Focus (set specific purposes) Reading Discussion Skills, Extension, Enrichment Before
5 Steps in a Classic DRA Background (vocabulary, facts) Focus (set specific purposes) Reading Discussion Skills, Extension, Enrichment Before During
5 Steps in a Classic DRA Background (vocabulary, facts) Focus (set specific purposes) Reading Discussion Skills, Extension, Enrichment Before During After
DR-TA Before During After
DR-TA Facts Students read to Discussion Vocabulary test their own Writing Text structure predictions Before During After
DR-TA Facts Students read to Discussion Vocabulary test their own Writing Text structure predictions Before During After
DR-TA Facts Students read to Discussion Vocabulary test their own Writing Text structure predictions Before During After
K-W-L Before During After
K-W-L Students Students read to Discussion brainstorm find out what of what they what they Know they Want to know have Learned Before During After
K-W-L Students Students read to Discussion brainstorm find out what of what they what they Know they Want to know have Learned Before During After
K-W-L Students Students read to Discussion brainstorm find out what of what they what they Know they Want to know have Learned Before During After
L-R-D Before During After
L-R-D Teacher fully Students read to Discussion presents text complete tasks content set by teacher (Children might listen to Spanish version) Before During After